Ice cream truck chase leads to arrest

Wednesday

Nov 14, 2012 at 11:00 PMNov 14, 2012 at 11:51 PM

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A local man was arrested today after police said he led them on a chase in a stolen ice cream delivery truck.

Francis Baptiste, 30, was charged with using a motor vehicle without authority, driving without a license, failure to stop for a police officer, possession of an open container of alcohol in a motor vehicle, throwing glass on a public way, driving to endanger, six counts of failure to stop for a red traffic light and two counts of marked lanes violations.

Police said an officer in the Park Avenue/Chandler Street area received a broadcast that a 2012 Freightliner ice cream delivery truck had been stolen from a Millbury Street address.

Another officer nearby saw the truck near State Liquor on Park Avenue, and the two officers followed the truck, attempting to pull it over as it went 18 miles per hour down the road, police said.

The truck eventually made it to the Webster Square area, where the driver, later identified by police as Mr. Baptiste, threw a beer bottle at police.

The truck continued on Stafford Street into Leicester. Police said state police were notified, and came in to deploy “stop sticks” in the road.

The truck swerved around the device, used to puncture vehicle tires, just east of Route 56, police said.

The stop sticks were again deployed down the road in Charlton, where they were successful.

The truck came to a controlled stop soon after, but Mr. Baptiste would not come out, police said. They smashed the window and took him out.

He was taken back to Worcester for processing, police said. The truck was towed to a garage in Oxford.